Tuesday, February 12, 2008

More On Jericho

I feel like I failed. I didn't make it through season 1 of Jericho before the season 2 premier tonight. I made it through 14 of the 22 episodes, so I've still got some work to do. I'm still on the fence a little, whenever they suck me in with some plot twist, they throw in something to annoy me later. I'm committed to making it through season 1 though, and if you missed the marathon over the weekend, you can check it out here.

The basic synopsis is this: The storyline revolves around the residents of Jericho, a small, rural Kansas town, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on twenty-three major cities in the contiguous United States. The series begins with a visible nuclear detonation of unknown origin over nearby Denver, Colorado, and a loss of power and modern communications, effectively isolating Jericho. Later, power is restored to Jericho by what is alluded to as the efforts of the U.S. government, but soon after, an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) disables all electronics. Several themes regularly addressed in the show are gathering of information, community identity, public order, limited resources, the value of family, and internal and external threats. The show also features several mysteries involving the backgrounds of major characters, the perpetrators of the attack, and the extent of damage to the United States and its government.The pivotal character in this story is Jake Green, the 32-year-old son of Mayor Johnston Green, who briefly returns home to visit his family and friends before becoming stranded as a result of the catastrophe. After a somewhat awkward return home and a tense reunion with his father, Jake steps up to become a leader in Jericho, fighting to protect the town and its citizens. As the people of Jericho struggle to survive in a changed world, most remain unaware that one of the newest residents, Robert Hawkins, knows much more about the attacks than he lets on.

Yes, that was shamelessly stolen from Wikipedia, but it was a lot easier than summarizing it myself.

I think this show has a lot of potential. There are a lot of interesting plot lines, but at times it tends to lean a little too much toward over dramatic soap opera-ish drivel, but so far the interesting parts are winning out.